Is the word "hate" used too much in regard to cup drivers?

Question

I go to races and I hear people say they "hate" Jeff Gordon, or they "hate" Kurt Busch. But really; do you hate them personally, or just their driving "gimmick" (term used in pro wrestling). I mean, if lived in North Carolina, and your kid had a heart condition, and your doctor referred you to a specialist at the Jeff Gordon's Children's hospital, would you not take them because you "hate" Jeff Gordon. Denny Hamlin is probably my least favorite driver, but I still ship stuff with Fed Ex. I know this is a kind of off beat question, but I was just curious about peoples thoughts on this.

Answer 1

i don't hate Kyle Busch i really dislike his attitude but i still eat M&M's

Answer 2

You don't come between a fan and his or her driver....but I do think that hate is a strong word. It is a sport however so I think there my be other words to use for drivers /teams you don't like.  

Answer 3

I totally agree.  I think people in this world in general use the word 'hate' to loosely to describe thing, drivers, they do not like or maybe have just pissed them off for a minute.

Montoya is my least favorite driver, I think he is an amazing driver with a c**p attitude.  I would not say I hate him because I don't really know him and yes I still chew Big Red gum.

Answer 4

Excellent question. Yes it is used too much. I don't hate anyone and am shocked when people say they "hate". It isn't like we know these drivers personally so why use such ugly language.

Answer 5

The hate thing is used way to much everywhere in the world and not just Nascar. I do not believe that people actually hate the driver as a person , but hate what that driver portrays as far as his actions and winning against a driver that the hater  loves. If my driver does not win I naturally hate everybody who came in ahead of him. But I dont hate that driver, say, if I saw them on the street, and I dont hate the products they endorse. I guess I dont really hate the drivers at all, I just hate that my driver didnt win.  

Answer 6

I know what you mean. I am guilty of saying that. Truth be known I don`t hate anyone especialy NASCAR drivers. I respect them all. I appreciate the hard work and entertainment they provide.

Answer 7

Dale Sr. didn't need to wreck people.  He could see the air, that's why he was the Intimidator. He could take the air off of you without touching anything. Dale Sr. never forgot where he came from.  His Dad taught him and made him learn the hard way.  He worked for everything that he had.  There were some people who did not like Dale Sr. and that's okay too, but you never heard him whine.

Answer 8

'Hate' is such a stupid word, used most likely by people who don't fully grasp the meaning of it in the first place and who shouldn't be using it in the second place.  'Dislike' is better.  I dislike a lot of drivers, some for no reason other than who they are and what they've done on or off the track.  But I still support their sponsors.  And if I met any one of the drivers that I disliked in a bar, I'd tell them straight-up that I disliked them, why I disliked them, and then by them a beer.

Answer 9

i believe that people who say and truly mean they "hate" a driver, or any athlete or celebrity they don't know has issues - and they are out there. some of the phone calls dave despain gets regarding kyle seriously sound like people living out in the woods who are busy engraving kyle's name on a bullet while they talk. it's very scary. of course, most of the time when somebody says "hate" in sports it's a competitive fan thing, not "hate" as in the traditional sense of the word. at least i hope not.  

as for your examples, clint bowyer is one of my "not-so-favorite" drivers, and i don't drink jack daniels. but that's not because i "hate" him - it's because i'm in recovery and for me, bottles of jack daniels need to come with bail money and calamine lotion as i'm allergic to it - always makes me break out in handcuffs.

;-)

ps. i had to share this - i just got an email from a friend of mine thanking me for helping her with a computer problem. one time after kyle won she took a picture she had taken for me at preseason thunder at fontana of the m&ms car and photoshopped graffiti and body damage all over the car, and some pretty hateful stuff. but back to the email, she's a junior fan and added this: "One more small thing....Kyle Busch sucks farts from an old ladies ***!! I hope Carl Edwards puts him into the WALL in Fontana! What a cry baby!   and...a sore loser! Check this out.."2nd place isn't as good as some might think it is. No matter how you look at it, 2nd place is always the 1st loser!" "

i need to get out more and make some new friends...

;-)

Answer 10

Winter has it correct, hate is a terrible word and i personally never use the word hate, i may dislike some but never would wish them any harm, all are Drivers and Racers and no matter who you pull for, do not fall into the "basher or hater" groups especially on YA and there are lots of them...

I dislike Montoya but buy Big Red and Juicy Fruit....lol

Answer 11

I've heard this term too much in this sport.

Too many people attempt to use words interchangeably and without knowing the use the incorrect word.Hate is not a word that can be changed with dislike.But lack of formal education hate is being replaced in the english language.

How ever ther are some fates that are "hateful and vengent" as the one(s)  who scrapped off the sticker of my favorite (What ever they used they scraped into the paint) then with paint put "88" where they scraped off the sticker.This happened this spring at Talladega.

So do I hate the 88 or the ignorant fan that damaged my truck no,but if I would have caught them there would have been some actions.\ My truck was just 1 of at least 6 vehicles damaged this way.

If you dislike a driver fine,but not everyone likes yours.

Answer 12

Yes I think its used way too much. Like some others have said its a very strong word. I try like heck to never use it and I hardly ever do but I do find myself sometimes saying it out loud or typing it and having to go back and change it. Its just human nature I guess. Denny Hamlin is not one of my favorites either and I dont hate him but I do make the Fed Ex guy when he delivers something to my house honk and wait about 5 mins before I go out and get my dogs off the side of his truck. The dogs have no problems with UPS or DHL for whatever reasons.

On a serious note, life is too short to go around hating all the time or anytime!  

Answer 13

yes and no, some people say hate for no real reasons, but i do hate drivers, and ill admit that, but i hate them because the way they act during interviews, and the way they drive, i hate them for wrecking people on purpose, they could kill someone, and then i really hate them if they wreck someone on purpose, get out of the car, and then lie about it. and i know there seems to be a lot of kyle busch waggoners in here, but thats exactly him all over... all though he does race cleanly more often then not.

Answer 14

Well I say i "hate" certain drivers... but I would never wish death upon them or anything. It's just a racing term on how I feel.

I'll still buy whatever product they endorce, even today I found myself buying pork and beans with Tony Stewart on them... (out of all the non Stewart ones)... and I'm not even a fan of his.

And as regards to my "hate" of Gordon... and my CHILD. I'd send them to whatever hospital thinks they could help.  

Answer 15

Hate is a word used too often in a lot of things not just NASCAR.  Remember "out of the heart, the mouth speaks"    In this NASCAR forum if you are talking ( or typing) with contempt disguised as a question having no real desire to know the truth but just to hurt others,  people can pick up on that as hating and it probably is.

Answer 16

Hate is an ugly word, and I would imagine anyone who could harbor hatred, especially for someone they don't even know, is equally as ugly in spirit.

Answer 17

Definitely hate is used way to much I mean really we don't know any of these people. All we know is how well they drive a stock car. Nobody on here knows any of them personally  

Answer 18

Yes it is. Honestly how can you truly hate someone if you don't even know them. Sometimes I may not like what some of them do on track but I don't "hate" any driver.